Spark Arrester casts wide his net of influences on the Yiri Sun EP and winds up hauling in 80s afro-cubanisms, chunky MPC hip-hop beats and frequency-bending synths as well as a bit of folk from Sixto ‘Sugarman’ Rodriguez. The latter turns up on the uptempo strings ‘n all funky breaks of Theme Of The Sun while the rest forms the sum of the really quite beautiful Yiri Yiri Boom. And the
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Monthly Archives: October 2014
SPARK ARRESTER: Yiri Sun EP (2014) Free download
VIDA G feat. KRSA: Moonshiners (2014)
Nynfus Corp has only been defunct as a production proposition for five minutes but former member Vida G is not letting that slow down his output for here he is with some finely distilled bottom-end heavy, bashment-tinged electro swing. That’ll be Moonshiners then. Of course, where there’s moonshine, everyone wants a piece of the action. Consequently, VG has had to cut remixers Hanzee
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HOLLAND DOZIER HOLLAND: Rare 45s Box Set (2014)
Bringing super rare Holland-Dozier-Holland tracks out on seven inch? It’s all so obvious isn’t it? Apparently not immediately – if you’re in charge of release format decisions at Harmless Records. The story goes something like this: about this time last year, UMC released a Motown 7s box set of rare and unreleased (not to mention top quality) vinyl from big names including the likes of Marvin Gaye
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SERGE SEVERE (prod. MAZE ROCKWELL): The Vigil (2014) Free download
It’s all food metaphors and aphorisms as Serge Severe keeps vigil over hip-hop’s health once more with a hard-hitting turn on the mic on – er – The Vigil. Assisting ol’ Double-S through life’s seething labyrinth of problems is producer Maze Rockwell who provides boom ominous enough to give you the shivers. It’s Rockwell’s first collab with the West Coast rapper and surely won’t be
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ANDY TAYLOR: El Pantano Remixes (2014)
It seems like an age since we’ve had a Wass Record release but the wait is over with the arrival of this package of remixes from Andy Taylor‘s nufunk/party breaks affair from last year, El Pantano. In the intervening months, an assortment of producers have been working on sparkling new reworkings of some of Andy’s choicest cuts in much the same way as an
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LONE NINJA: Wave Of Carnage (2014)
Rating: 
Silent as cherry blossom falling, Lone Ninja has returned. I hope you’re ready for a wave of carnage. Not literally of course – it’s just that Wave Of Carnage is the title of the new opus prepped by the covert mic marauder to sweep all before it in a tsunami of beats and rhymes.
Listen carefully and you may note that the
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ASTRONAUT JONES: Game Theory (2014)
Astronaut Jones has decided that what the world needs is more in the way of ‘jazz fusion’-flavoured breaks and moreover that he’s the man to provide it. Gambling thus wildly with the public’s tastes, Jones initiates Game Theory with a ‘plugging into the amp’ sound and some groovy blaxploitation bass which promises a wondrous percussive drop. And said drop is indeed delivered but only after
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GHETTO FUNK presents: DJ MAARS & TOM SHOWTIME (2014)
Rating: Reggae hip-hop double act DJ Maars and Tom Showtime display irrefutable evidence of doctorates in advanced weaponry design with yet another killer low-end genre-splicing four-tracker. This time seeking protection from corporate sample litigation strikes behind the might of the Ghetto Funk label, the pair prove that their arsenal is as deadly as ever with laser-guided
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EARLY CLOVER & THE GEORGIA SOUL DRIFTERS: Freedom/ Think It Over (2014)
In between their regular contemporary deep funk, jazz funk, soul, ska and rocksteady drops, Milan’s Record Kicks label likes to re-release occasional rare groove bombs from back in the day. Here, it’s the turn of Early Clover & The Georgia Soul Drifters,’ a band whose career included being the road band for Rufus Thomas, among others, thus demonstrating impeccable soul credentials. Further
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FATHER FUNK: Phenomenal Funk EP (2014)
Father Funk continues his current roll and I don’t mean that stale bap that he’s been surviving on during epic ‘computer vision syndrome’-inducing bouts on the music production software recently. The modestly titled five track Phenomenal Funk EP is aimed firmly at the dancefloor and gives what you might call the warp and weft of breakbeat music a healthy exploration, ensuring that the
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